Group Sales & Marketing Manager

Are you a commercially curious sales professional who enjoys spotting opportunities before the competition does? Trigon Hotels is seeking a Group Sales and Marketing Manager to proactively identify, qualify and convert new business opportunities across MICE, leisure groups, sports teams, corporate business, food and beverage and local market segments. This is a revenue-focused sales role. The successful candidate will develop and maintain a proactive digital lead-generation strategy that supports budget achievement, pipeline growth and enquiry conversion across Cork International Hotel and The Metropole Hotel. Working closely with the Marketing, Revenue and hotel teams, the role will identify opportunities to generate new enquiries through websites, landing pages, CRM activity, Google Business Profile, social platforms, digital campaigns, review platforms and AI-led discovery. The role will also use AI-assisted tools to support prospect research, market intelligence, lead qualification, opportunity identification and sales preparation. A key part of the role will be monitoring emerging digital and AI-driven customer search behaviours, then recommending practical actions to improve enquiry generation, customer engagement and commercial performance. This role is suited to someone who can spot market opportunities, understand what customers are searching for, build relationships with decision-makers and pick up the phone to turn interest into confirmed revenue. Every activity in this role must connect back to one of three commercial outcomes: generating leads, converting business or supporting budget achievement.Key ResponsibilitiesSales, revenue and pipeline

• Support delivery of LGR bedroom revenue, BGR bedroom revenue, food and beverage revenue and C&B revenue in line with budget.
• Maintain an active pipeline by hotel, segment, month, value and likelihood to convert.
• Generate new qualified leads across MICE, leisure groups, sports teams, events, F&B, corporate and local market segments.
• Monitor upcoming Cork demand drivers including sports fixtures, conferences, conventions, concerts, festivals, graduations, university events, corporate announcements and local market activity.
• Build weekly prospect lists and make proactive calls and emails to event organisers, sports teams, associations, clubs, agents, corporate clients and local businesses.
• Qualify leads quickly and progress them to proposal, site visit, confirmed, postponed, lost or future follow-up.
• Re-engage lapsed clients, previous bookers and lost enquiries to create future revenue opportunities.

Networking and relationship building

• Attend relevant networking events, business events, trade events and local market opportunities.
• Build relationships with event organisers, sports clubs, associations, corporate contacts, agencies, local businesses and community groups.
• Use networking activity to generate measurable leads, site visits and future pipeline opportunities.
• Follow up promptly after meetings and events with calls, emails, proposals or hotel invitations.

Digital lead generation and AI discovery

• Ensure the hotel websites are commercially ready to capture demand from upcoming events, conferences, sports fixtures, local market activity and seasonal campaigns.
• Work with Marketing and digital agencies to improve website content, landing pages, FAQs, enquiry forms, phone prompts and calls to action.
• Monitor how Cork International Hotel and The Metropole Hotel appear across Google, Google Business Profile, review platforms and AI search tools for commercially valuable searches.
• Identify gaps where the hotels are not visible, searchable or clearly positioned for relevant enquiries.
• Use search behaviour, AI search trends and reviews, reputation platforms, customer feedback and lost business insights to recommend content and lead-generation opportunities.
• AI opportunity discovery using AI tools to help identify new sales opportunities, market signals and customer demand patterns that may not be obvious from existing enquiries alone.
• Support content that helps the hotels appear for valuable searches and converts that visibility into website enquiries, phone calls, proposals and confirmed revenue.

Market intelligence and reporting

• Maintain a forward-looking opportunity calendar for Cork demand drivers.
• Monitor competitor activity and identify opportunities where Trigon Hotels can win business.
• Maintain accurate records of self-generated leads, source codes, values, stages, next actions and outcomes.
• Work collaboratively with Revenue, Sales, Marketing and hotel teams to identify need periods, budget gaps and commercial opportunities, then support weekly and monthly reporting on activity, pipeline, conversion, confirmed revenue and lost business to shape targeted prospecting activity and support budget delivery.
• Ensure every opportunity is followed through to revenue, future pipeline or a clear lost business reason.

RequiredSkills and experience

• Strong commercial focus with an understanding that activity must convert into revenue.
• Confident phone manner and willingness to make proactive sales calls.
• Strong networking ability and desire to build long-term business relationships.
• Good understanding of hotel sales, group business, MICE, C&B, F&B or corporate sales.
• Strong organisation and follow-up discipline.
• Comfortable using CRM systems, Excel, Guestline or similar hotel systems.
• Ability to research events, companies, associations, sports teams and local market activity.
• Practical understanding of how customers search online before making an enquiry.
• Good written communication for tailored proposals, website briefs and follow-up emails.
• Persistent, professional and focused on results.

Desirable

• GA4 awareness.
• Hotel CRM or newsletter experience.
• PMS experience.
• C&B sales experience.
• Basic SEO knowledge.
• Understanding of AI search tools and how customers use them.
• Experience briefing website content, landing pages or digital campaigns.
• Understanding of review and reputation websites and how they support new business generation.

Benefits:

• Competitive rate of pay
• Relocation Assistance
• Access to our Company Pension Scheme
• Death in Service Benefit
• Employee referral bonus
• Friends & Family discounts across our restaurants
• Special rates in our hotel accommodation
• Paid internal and external training days
• Access to Trained Mental Health First Aiders
• Team Member Social & Wellbeing Events
• Team Member Annual Awards, Service Recognition, Monthly Team Member of The Month
• Meals on Duty
• Assistance with Leap Cards